Under fire, Johor Chief Minister maintains right to visit disputed waters

JOHOR BARU — Johor Chief Minister Osman Sapian has defended his visit last week into waters disputed by Singapore and Malaysia, which eventually caused a bilateral row and led to the postponement of the Joint Ministerial Committee for Iskandar Malaysia (JMCIM) meeting.

Mr Osman said he was unfazed by criticism from Singapore leaders and also some Malaysians on the issue, calling his critics “sour grapes”.

“In fact, I received a few messages and a video via WhatsApp from several Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) division leaders and ketua kampungs (village chiefs) that gave their support to me.

“Maybe in the next few days, there will be more people that will give their support to me on the issue,” said Mr Osman on Thursday (Jan 17).

Mr Osman, who is also Pakatan Harapan chairman in Johor, explained that he had received an unofficial blessing from Malaysian Foreign Affairs Minister Saifuddin Abdullah and his deputy before his planned visit to the disputed waters.

“They did not stop me at all from visiting the area,” he said.

The 67-year-old Kempas assemblyman also reminded his critics that he was not only the Johor Chief Minister, but was also the state’s security council chairman.

He said his role in the council required him to personally understand the current maritime dispute in the area.

Mr Osman was speaking on the sidelines of a pre-launch event of the Johor International Islamic and Halal Festival 2019.

Also present was Johor Information, Entrepreneurship Development, Cooperatives and Creative Economy Committee chairman Sheikh Umar Bagharib Ali, and Johor Works, Infrastructure and Transport Committee chairman Mazlan Bujang.

Mr Sheikh Umar described Mr Osman’s visit to the disputed maritime area last week as a patriotic move.

“What (Mr Osman) did was for the love of the state, country and also its sovereignty,” he said, adding that there was also no issue of provocation in this matter.

Mr Mazlan also voiced his support of Mr Osman’s visit, saying that there was nothing wrong with a state leader personally visiting the maritime area.

On Jan 14, Singapore’s Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said in Parliament that Mr Osman’s visit to the Marine Department Malaysia vessel Pedoman on Jan 9 completely "went against the spirit of the agreement" between him (Dr Balakrishnan) and Mr Saifuddin the day before, when both leaders agreed to set up a working group to de-escalate tensions surrounding the maritime borders.

Mr Osman's visit made it "untenable" to proceed with the JMCIM meeting, Dr Balakrishnan said. AGENCIES